The Force M.D.s are an American R&B vocal group that was formed in 1981 in

Staten Island, New York Staten Island ( ) is the southernmost of the boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County and situated at the southernmost point of New York (state), New York. The borough is separated from the ad ...

. Although the group has

old school hip hop Old-school hip hop (also spelled old skool) (also known as disco-rap) is the earliest commercially recorded Hip-hop, hip hop music and the original style of the genre. It typically refers to the music created around 1979 to 1983, as well as any ...

roots, it is perhaps best known for their soulful R&B tunes such as " Tender Love," " Love Is a House," "Tears," and "Here I Go Again." They are considered major forerunners of the

new jack swing New jack swing, new jack, or swingbeat is a fusion genre of the rhythms and production techniques of hip hop and dance-pop, and the urban contemporary sound of R&B. Spearheaded by producers Teddy Riley, Bernard Belle, Jimmy Jam and Te ...

movement.

History

Origins

The band was originally named The L.D.s, and then became the Force MCs. Though the group was not quite always as recognizable as other New York R&B acts when it first started, they were among the first R&B vocal groups to intermix

doo-wop Doo-wop (also spelled doowop and doo wop) is a subgenre of rhythm and blues music that originated in African-American communities during the 1940s, mainly in the large cities of the United States, including New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, ...

-affected singing with and sometimes over

hip-hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hi ...

beats. The group was composed of brothers Stevie D., Antoine "T.C.D." (February 3, 1963 – January 18, 1998), and Rodney "Khalil" Lundy, and their uncle Jessie Lee Daniels (July 4, 1963 – January 4, 2022). Later, friends Trisco Pearson (October 23, 1962 – September 16, 2016) and Charles "Mercury" Nelson (December 19, 1964 – March 9, 1995) from the Mariners Harbor housing projects joined the group.

Performing and signing with a record label

The group began performing on

Times Square Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and Neighborhoods in New York City, neighborhood in the Midtown Manhattan section of New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway (Manhattan), ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

street corners and during trips on the

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is the southernmost of the boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County and situated at the southernmost point of New York (state), New York. The borough is separated from the ad ...

ferry A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus ...

. After the L.D.s connected with DJ Dr. Rock (Roger Daniels) they then performed as "Dr. Rock & the Force MCs." The group was discovered by hip hop promoter Vansilk in summer 1981. The three members were Dr. Rock, Stevie D. and Mercury. In collaboration with Dr. Rock, the group continued to perfect their unique sound, which was unusual at the time: a fusion of doo-wop harmonies and hip-hop that involved singing, rapping and group member's "human beatbox" melodies at underground hip hop shows. They gained even more credibility and respect from local fans after competing in an emcee lyrical battle against the well known Cold Crush Brothers from the Bronx in 1983. By 1984, the group signed with

Tommy Boy Records Tommy Boy Records is an American independent record label and multimedia brand founded in 1981 by Tom Silverman. The label is credited with helping and launching the music careers of Queen Latifah, Amber, Afrika Bambaataa, Stetsasonic, Digita ...

. This is the same year the group changed their name to the Force MDs, which stood for “Musical Diversity”. They had developed into a quiet storm/contemporary R&B group, with its top-ten R&B hit, "Tears", from the debut album, ''Love Letters''. (With the exception of their first album, the group was the first act on Tommy Boy to have major-label distribution through its then-parent

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (known as Warner Bros. Records Inc. until 2019) is an American record label. A subsidiary of Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division ...

Success

The group produced a collection of R&B hits throughout the 1980s, and received overwhelming commercial success from the

Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis James Samuel "Jimmy Jam" Harris III (born June 6, 1959) and Terry Steven Lewis (born November 24, 1956) are an American R&B/ pop songwriting and record production team. Their productions have received commercial success since the 1980s with var ...

-penned

love song A love song is a song about love, falling in love, heartbreak after a breakup, and the feelings that these experiences bring. Love songs can be found in a variety of different music genres. They can come in various formats, from sad and emotion ...

" Tender Love" from their second album, 1985's '' Chillin'''. The song was featured in the 1985

feature film A feature film or feature-length film (often abbreviated to feature), also called a theatrical film, is a film (Film, motion picture, "movie" or simply “picture”) with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole present ...

and soundtrack '' Krush Groove'', and proved to be a success, peaking at No. 10 in the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, becoming an instant R&B classic after it stayed on the chart for 19 weeks. "Tender Love" was also one of the tracks that helped Jam & Lewis garner a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

for Producer of the Year. The song "Itchin' for a Scratch" was performed by the group in the 1985 feature film ''

Rappin' ''Rappin is a 1985 American film directed by Joel Silberg, written by Adam Friedman and Robert J. Litz, produced by Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus and starring Mario Van Peebles. The film is a sequel to '' Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo'', and ...

'', and was also part of the soundtrack. In 1987 they finally scored their first R&B #1 hit, " Love Is a House," from their third album, '' Touch and Go''.

Waning popularity and member changes

By the late 1980s the group's popularity began to wane. A fourth album, ''Step to Me'', was released in 1990, which featured record production by

Full Force Full Force is an American music group of hip hop and R&B singers, songwriters and producers from Brooklyn, New York. Members *B-Fine (Brian George) – drums and drum programming, backing vocals *Shy Shy (Hugh Junior Clark) – bass guita ...

Marley Marl Marlon Lu'Ree Williams (born September 30, 1962), better known by his stage name Marley Marl, is an American DJ, record producer, rapper and record label founder, primarily operating in hip hop music. Marlon grew up in Queensbridge Houses, Queen ...

, Monte Moir (of the band The Time), and others. Members Pearson and Nelson left soon afterward, replaced by original member Rodney "Khalil" Lundy (who had initially left the band early in their career) and new member Shawn Waters. The group then released the album ''Moments in Time'' in 1994, but failed to chart or produce any hits. In 1996 the group appeared on several tracks on the

Ghostface Killah Dennis David Coles (born May 9, 1970), better known by his stage name Ghostface Killah, is an American rapper and a member of the hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan. After the group achieved breakthrough success in the aftermath of ''Enter the Wu-Tang ...

album '' Ironman''.

Deaths in the group and a last reunion

Three of the group's members died during the latter half of the 1990s: Nelson suffered a fatal heart attack in 1995; former collaborator DJ Dr. Rock died suddenly of AIDS in 1996; and in 1998, Antoine Lundy died of

Lou Gehrig's disease Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neuron disease (MND) or—in the United States—Lou Gehrig's disease (LGD), is a rare, terminal neurodegenerative disorder that results in the progressive loss of both upper and lo ...

. Surviving members of the group's classic lineup - Daniels, Pearson, and Stevie D. Lundy - along with Rodney Lundy returned with a comeback album, ''The Reunion'', in 2000, but it failed to chart or register any hits. Damen Heyward, a native of

The Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

formerly of the mid-/late-1980s group 4 By Four, later joined the group as well. After leaving the group, Heyward went on to tour with artists such as Joe. Trisco Pearson died on September 16, 2016, at age 53, after a battle with stage 4 cancer. His death was announced by Bow Legged Lou of

. Jessie Daniels died on January 4, 2022, at the age of 58.

Legacy

* A documentary film titled ''The Force M.D.s Relived'' was shot, but the release date is unknown. * On September 9, 2015, they were featured on an episode of TV One's '' Unsung''. * The members of Force MD's were referenced in the song "Okkervil River R.I.P." by indie-folk band

Okkervil River Okkervil River is an American rock band led by singer-songwriter Will Sheff. Formed in Austin, Texas, in 1998, the band takes its name from a short story by Russian author Tatyana Tolstaya set on the river Okkervil in Saint Petersburg. They bega ...

on their 2016 album '' Away''.

Members

* Zieme Capers * Stevie D. (Stevie D. Lundy) * Khalil (Rodney Lundy)

Former members

* T.C.D. (Antoine Lundy) (died 1998) * Mercury (Charles Nelson) (died 1995) * DJ Dr. Rock (died 1996) * Shawn Waters * Trisco (Trisco Pearson) (died 2016) * Jessie D. (Jessie Lee Daniels) (died 2022) * Damen Heyward

Discography

Studio albums

Compilation albums

Singles

Filmography

* 1985: ''

'' * 1989: '' Limit Up''

Cover versions

One of its songs, “Tender Love,” was covered by Jordan Knight, Kenny Thomas, Usher,

Uncle Sam Uncle Sam (with the same initials as ''United States'') is a common national personification of the United States, depicting the federal government of the United States, federal government or the country as a whole. Since the early 19th centu ...

Alicia Keys Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer and songwriter. A classically trained pianist, Keys began composing songs at the age of 12 and was signed by Columbia Records at 15. After d ...

, and Meshell Ndegeocello.

References

External links

* The Force M.D.'sat

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

The Force M.D.'s
at

Discogs Discogs ( ; short for " discographies") is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. Database contents are user-generated, and described in ''T ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Force MDs American soul musical groups African-American musical groups Musicians from Staten Island American street performers Tommy Boy Records artists Musical groups established in 1981 1981 establishments in New York City Musical groups from Staten Island